There are so many interesting things about this house. One that i found most intriguing is the roof form and how it transtions from a gable to a shed…

I tried analyzing this in CAD to visually interpret how they may have accomplished this (please correct me if this is wrong) What could have been a very simple vernacular roof form turned into something much more complex which consequently posed some additional challenges in terms of constructability

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For your interest…

Some of you may know of this, but i thought to share it with everyone because of this week’s topic.

The following is a website dedicated to City of Portland’s initiative of developing narrow residential in-fill lots called “Living Smart – Bid Ideas for Small Lots”.

http://www.livingsmartpdx.com

The Living Smart Project began as a competition for the design of affordable single-family detached housing on very narrow lots. The goal of this project was to create a catalogue of house designs to be built on 25-foot wide lots. Designs that meet the needs of first-time homebuyers, provide design compatibility with a variety of neighborhoods, and respond to a range of market demands are all desired outcomes.

The results of this design competition were two publications: “Design Excellence Monograph” and the “Portland Catalogue of House Designs for Narrow Lots”.
To order a (free) copy of the winning design publications click on the following link. It features 23 house designs selected for their suitability as in-fill development and were selected from a juried competition:

http://www.livingsmartpdx.com/home/order_publications.asp

I’ve attached some sample submissions for your interest.

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Robert,
That is a good question. I look to be some kid of panel with a batten covering the joints. I will ask the architects and report back.

Kirk,
You make a very good point that articulates one of the key differences between a well designed home and a cookie cutter house – recognition and response to orientation, sitem, and location. The fact is, in most cooke cutter houses the quality of light, view, etc. in the interior would be unchanged whether it was in a suburub, a forest or a desert. This standardization of experience to a lowest common denominator is very similar to the uniformity of fast food. Beijing, Berlin, or Baltimore – it all tastes about the same.

Jan,
I wouldn’t characterize this is as a family home. It is quite compact and the distribution of rooms over multiple floors would make it difficult with small kids. With that said, however, I wouldn’t conclude that there is a trend for architecturally designed urban houses to not address the young, or the elderly. A home should be tailored to fit the lives of the people who lives there and an architect will try to do just that.

On the other hand, I do think that you could make the argument that the cookie cutter urban condo market is geared too much towards the young professional and doesn’t provide enough realistic options for family living (meaning that these people have to go out to the suburbs as soon as they have kids).

The detail you speak of is not ideal for children, but buildings codes do impose a fairly restrictive maximum opening width in this situation. I think the bigger concern would be the slipperiness of the hardwood treads.